Tag archives for Waitt Foundation

Overfishing, climate change, habitat destruction, and pollution remain major threats to the world’s ocean. But amidst all that there is some seriously good ocean conservation news worth celebrating. So, to continue the tradition started last year with listing 14 Ocean Conservation Wins of 2014, here’s a rundown for 2015 that will hopefully fill you with…

Two and a half years ago, the Waitt Institute launched the Blue Halo Initiative, through which we partner with governments and communities as they envision, design, and implement sustainable ocean management for their waters. In the time since, we supported the Caribbean island of Barbuda in passing meaningful legislation that zones the island’s entire coastal…

Policy change, even at its most efficient, is often difficult and slow. This can be especially true for conservation policy, which often involves curtailing private sector business practices. On the flip side, the policymaking process can be sped up by clear public support. That’s why the recent consensus between the Caribbean fishing and SCUBA diving…

Co-authored by Stephanie Roach, Waitt Institute Program Manager The Waitt Institute team is made up of people who spent their childhoods playing at the beach, swimming in the calm turquoise Caribbean Sea, and learning about the amazing, diverse creatures that live beneath the surface. Each of us fell in love with the ocean at a young…

The academic community has been wary of Wikipedia since it first came on the scene. Teachers have spent a decade warning their students not trust the online encyclopedia, concerned that because anyone can edit it, it might not be reliable. I’ll admit I first approached Wikipedia with caution, using it for quick reference but steering…

When the average internet user seeks out information on a scientific topic, the first place she turns to isn’t the latest scientific literature or even a mainstream news publication, it’s Wikipedia. Google any scientific topic and the online encyclopedia will turn up as the first or second search result. Though many within the science community…

When New York Times Dot Earth reporter Andrew Revkin got in touch with me seeking a documentary topic for the environmental journalism course he co-teaches at Pace University, he walked right into my trap. I rarely pass up an opportunity to twist someone’s arm to share optimistic stories of ocean conservation (#OceanOptimism!). Curaçao has some…

Co-authored by Andy Estep, Science Manager of the Waitt Institute For the first time in the history of Barbuda, law enforcement agents from four agencies gathered in the Codrington Fisheries Complex to collaborate on the enforcement of ocean laws in the island’s waters. This important step will ensure that the community reaps the benefits of new…

Curaçao is one of the most culturally vibrant places I’ve been – a melting pot of the Caribbean. Papiamentu, the local dialect, reflects this diversity with its inclusion of Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, English, and African languages. Underwater, Curaçao is similarly diverse and vibrant, with one of the healthiest coral reefs in the Caribbean. But, as…

When you land on Montserrat, your passport gets stamped with a shamrock. That is the first sign that the island has a bit of magic. The air is warm, but the people are warmer. This video introduces some of the faces and vistas of this wondrous place, the second island where the Waitt Institute has…

VERY EXCITING NEWS! The Waitt Institute has expanded its Blue Halo Initiative to Montserrat and Curaçao, building on the recent success in Barbuda. The new partnerships with these two innovative island governments and communities will help envision, design, and implement sustainable ocean policies for their waters. With the launches of Blue Halo Montserrat and Blue…

There is a new wave of conservation in the Pacific. Fed up with overfishing and other non-sustainable practices like shark finning, small island nations are returning to more traditional ways. They are beginning to scale back industrial fishing in their waters, to protect their fish stocks from illegal fishing, and to create sustainable tourism destinations…

On August 12th, Barbuda Council signed into law a sweeping set of new ocean management regulations that zone their coastal waters, strengthen fisheries management, and establish a network of marine sanctuaries. This comes after seventeen months of extensive community consultation and scientific research supported by the Waitt Institute. With these new policies, the small island…

By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jacob James Ocean conservation is in need of action, not talk, but the Our Ocean Conference, hosted by Secretary John Kerry and the U.S. Department of State last week was not just hot air. Rather, it was worth its carbon footprint, and we were honored to attend. All in attendance…

National Geographic Voices

Researchers, conservationists, and others share stories, insights and ideas about our living planet's rapidly changing geography. More than 50,000 comments have been added to 10,000 posts. Explore the list alongside to dive deeper into some of the most popular categories of the National Geographic Society's conversation platform Voices.

Opinions are those of the blogger and/or the blogger's organization, and not necessarily those of the National Geographic Society. Posters and commenters are required to observe National Geographic's community rules and other terms of service.

Voices director: David Braun (dbraun@ngs.org)

Fighting Wildlife Crime: The Unsung Heroes

Journalist and National Geographic Fellow Bryan Christy uses investigative journalism to expose illegal wildlife trafficking around the globe. In this video he introduces a a series of interviews with the people fighting wildlife crime on the front lines.

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Fulbright-National Geographic

The Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship provides a unique platform for U.S. Fulbright awardees to build awareness of transnational challenges, comparing and contrasting cross-border issues. Their stories are shared on National Geographic digital platforms using a variety of digital storytelling tools, including text, photography, video, audio, graphic illustrations and/or social media. Meet the Fellows and follow their adventures across the world on the Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling blog.

Follow the links on the sidebar of any of the blog's pages for details and tips on how to apply for a Fellowship.

Photo of the 2016/2017 class of Fellows by Randall Scott.

Featured Research: Mushara Elephant Project

Caitlin O'Connell and her husband, Tim Rodwell, started the Mushara Elephant Project in Namibia 24 years ago to better understand elephant social structure, communication and health in order to apply this knowledge to improved care in captivity and ultimately to elephant conservation in the wild. O’Connell is on the faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine and CEO of the elephant-focused nonprofit, Utopia Scientific. A grantee of the National Geographic Society, she is also an award-winning author of six books about elephants. Read Caitlin's dispatches from Mushara.

Nat Geo Expedition: Rising Star

Two years after being discovered deep in a South African cave, the 1,500 fossils excavated during the Rising Star Expedition have been identified as belonging to a previously unknown early human relative that National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Lee Berger and team have named Homo naledi.

With at least 15 individuals of all ages and both sexes represented, the find adds an unprecedented amount of information to our understanding of early human evolution in Africa.

In addition, the absence of any other animal remains or large debris in the fossil chamber strongly suggests that these non-human beings intentionally deposited their dead within this cave.